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Dust Storms Also Inflict Psychological Disorders

Psychosomatic disorders, aggression, depression, gloom and doom are and could be consequences of the decline in social health standards, social psychologist Majid Safarinia said Monday.
He warned against the potential fallout of the haze and dust storms that have plagued Khuzestan and other southwestern provinces in recent weeks. “The crisis in Khuzestan may spread a sense of unfairness among people, making them feel like that they have been left to their own devices,” he told ILNA.
The expert also took stock of the declining living standards and said such social ailments are often generous contributors to a whole lot of physical and mental illnesses. “In a society with poor living standards, there are more incidences of depression and aggressive behavior.”
Safarinia suggested that the residents of oil-rich Khuzestan Province may start to feel that they have been given a raw deal or that solutions to their health and other pressing problems is not high on the government agenda.
“They wonder why a fertile and oil-rich region such as Khuzestan must experience such devastating environmental conditions. They may even start complaining that while other Iranians (the nation at large) benefit from their region’s oil wealth, they are left with environmental degradation,” and a long list of associated toxic problems, the news agency quoted him as saying.
Recalling the unacceptable living conditions in Khuzestan, Safarinia urged Iranians to show solidarity with their compatriots fellow countrymen and appealed to the officials to address the ago-old problems sooner rather than later.
“To prevent and reduce psychosocial problems from spreading and boost morale, I suggest the government hold its cabinet meetings in Khuzestan to show the people of that region that they are not alone in the fight against dust pollution.”
The Rouhani administration has given top priority to the worsening environment situation in Khuzestan and sent its health minster to Ahvaz, the provincial capital, on Monday to investigate the problem at close range. Dust and particulate storms have disrupted life in the key province and other neighboring regions in recent weeks leading to the closure of schools and government offices and filling emergency health centers.
Official reports say the people in Ahvaz, where hospitals have been overwhelmed by people unable breathe normally , have in the past few days held peaceful protests in the city demanding clean air and effective solutions to their seemingly unending predicament.